The Class of 2022 has much to celebrate - new experiences, new friends, and new careers - following an academic experience like no other.
Read on to learn how just a few of the members of this outstanding class spent their time at UVM.
A vision for holistic health
”Growing up I always questioned if there were other ways to treating illness or ailments - or really just to healing - other than traditional Western medications,” says Beck Inglese.
Becoming a yoga teacher at age 17 gave her a new vision of what holistic health and wellness could be. As a nursing student, Beck gained certifications in Integrative Health Care and Integrative Health and Wellness Coaching. Now, she’s set to combine the two fields in her career.
“I get to be a nurse and a health coach,” says Beck, who will join the oncology department at Massachusetts General Hospital after graduation.
Bringing heart and art to hospital waiting rooms
Anabelle Streckfus understands that patients at the hospital may feel anxious and sad, and she wants to bring them calmness and joy. The health sciences major volunteers for Art From the Heart at the University of Vermont Medical Center, bringing art supplies to patients in the children’s specialty center and hematology/oncology waiting room. “I have seen people light up as I offer them free art supplies,” said Anabelle. As a public health sciences major, volunteer doula, and health literacy educator, she is intimately familiar with the many ways medical settings can cause overwhelm. “The hospital can be a very stressful place of course, so I am proud to play a small role in making it a bit more tolerable,” Anabelle said.
After graduation, Streckfus plans to become a nurse practitioner focusing on pediatrics. – Reporting by Janet Franz
Making outdoor exercise accessible for older adults
Riley Korhonen instructed weekly sessions of group Nordic trekking — walking with specially designed poles similar to cross-country ski poles — for older people as part of a capstone research project. Along with guiding walks and teaching participants to use the poles, Riley gathered data about the impacts on participants' physical function, mental and emotional well-being, and quality of life. The project stemmed from a career ambition to improve population health by making physical activity accessible. An exercise science major with a psychology minor and certificate in integrative health and wellness coaching, Riley plans to pursue a graduate degree related to designing activities that promote wellness.- Reporting by Janet Franz
A caring look at prescription stimulant misuse
In high school and college, nursing major Sebastian C. Magnotti noticed an unsettling trend: some of his peers misused prescription stimulants with the perception that the substances would help them concentrate better while studying. As he searched for more information, he found that literature relating to the issue among nursing students was scarce – and began his own scholarly examination of prescription stimulant misuse. With the understanding that misuse of prescription stimulants has become a serious public health problem in the general population, particularly among college students, Sebastian created a team to look for studies that addressed the prevalence, motivations, and demographic factors associated with stimulant misuse among the nursing student population nationwide.
Sharing stories, and helping others share theirs
Elaina Sepede became a research assistant in her first year at UVM, joining a team of scientists examining social cognition among children with autism spectrum disorder, helped prep for speech sessions, and practiced articulation skills with clients in the on-campus Eleanor M. Luse Center for Communication. In preparation for a career in speech-language pathology, Elaina wrote a thesis with communication sciences and disorders professor Patricia Prelock, UVM's provost and senior vice president, exploring parents' perception of their children through Theory of Mind — the ability to reason about the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of the self and others.- Reporting by Janet Franz
Researcher, Advocat, Taekwondo champ
The role of practice in achieving precision – both in and out of the classroom – is clear to Oumaima Sriji, who competed and medaled nationally in the Korean martial art of Taekwondo while working toward her degree in medical laboratory science. Time spent as an undergraduate researcher provided valuable mentorship and hands-on technical skills, which will undoubtedly make an impact in her new career as a medical laboratory technician at the University of Vermont Medical Center.